Conor Niland

As elegant and powerful as a Federer backhand … It’s Kitchen Confidential for tennis

A brilliant, unvarnished look at a brutal sporting life.

An entertaining behind-the-scenes glimpse at life on the global tour

Conor Niland may only have managed a career-high ranking of 129 – only? that is some achievement in itself! – but The Racket, his account of how he managed this, is up there with the best half-dozen books on tennis ever written.

A thoughtfully constructed memoir … plenty of self-deprecating humour, poignancy and insight to make this a page-turner

A visceral, melancholy and often self-lacerating book … History is usually written by the winners, but this intelligent, unvarnished, emotionally draining memoir shows why an also-ran’s perspective can be just as valuable

A crushing reminder of the grist from which sporting greatness emerges

One of the best Irish sports books of the last decade

A fascinating, self-deprecating insight into the life of a tennis professional who isn’t one of the prize-grabbing elite

A stone-cold classic. The story of Conor Niland’s life in professional tennis … recently became the third Irish book ever win the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. And deservedly so.

Genuinely such a brilliant book, a brilliant read

A brutally honest assessment of his career and the effort it took to take him to the margins of the world’s elite.

His funny, sometimes painful, memoir, is a brilliant insider's look at the brutally competitive world of tennis as well as a meditation on moments missed by inches.

Niland writes about the loneliness and absurdity of life on tour with an elegance and immediacy that makes readers feel as if they are alongside the battered pro trying so hard to reach a better life for himself.

A beautiful book, ultimately about how to play the most important game of all – life.

Outstanding … brutally honest, brilliantly crafted

The Racket is as elegant and powerful as a Federer backhand – a rich, mordant, affecting portrait of the occasional triumphs and frequent indignities of the low-ranked professional tennis player. I really loved it. It’s Kitchen Confidential for tennis.

On Tour with Tennis’s Golden Generation – and the other 99%

When Conor Niland was 16, he got the chance to hit with Serena Williams at Nick Bollettieri's famed tennis academy. Conor, the Irish junior number one, was feeling a bit homesick. Serena, also 16, already owned her own house beside the academy. 
 
Conor Niland knows what it's like when Roger Federer walks into the dressing room ('Ciao, bonjour, hello!'), and he has had the exquisitely terrible experience of facing Novak Djokovic in the world's biggest tennis stadium - while suffering from food poisoning. But he never reached the very top. 
 
The Racket is the story of pro tennis's 99%: the players who roam the globe in hope of climbing the rankings and squeaking into the Grand Slam tournaments. It brings us into a world where a few dozen super-rich players - travelling with coaches and physios - share a stage with lonely touring pros whose earnings barely cover their expenses. Painting a vivid picture of the social dynamics on tour, the economics of the game, and the shadows cast by gambling and doping, The Racket is a witty and revealing underdog's memoir and a unique look inside a fascinating hidden world.

Conor Niland

Praise for The Racket

As elegant and powerful as a Federer backhand … It’s Kitchen Confidential for tennis

A brilliant, unvarnished look at a brutal sporting life.

An entertaining behind-the-scenes glimpse at life on the global tour

As elegant and powerful as a Federer backhand … It’s Kitchen Confidential for tennis

A brilliant, unvarnished look at a brutal sporting life.

An entertaining behind-the-scenes glimpse at life on the global tour

As elegant and powerful as a Federer backhand … It’s Kitchen Confidential for tennis

A brilliant, unvarnished look at a brutal sporting life.

An entertaining behind-the-scenes glimpse at life on the global tour

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